University of Redlands hosts active shooter drill

Police stormed into a University of Redlands building Tuesday morning toting assault rifles with an orange piece of plastic on the ends of the barrels.

They were training in how to respond to a shooter.

Gunshots rang from above as police crept up the stairs of Ann Peppers Hall in helmets, goggles and gloves. Volunteer victims splashed with fake blood cried for help. A speaker system amplified their screams with prerecorded yells of terror.

Once the perpetrators were located, officers unloaded rounds of plastic pellets and secured each room of the building.

Then, EMTs rushed inside and treated the wounded. If the person could walk, they were directed out the door. The severely wounded were wrapped in a bag and carried outside. The dead were left behind.

Redlands police, fire and campus security all participated in the first event of its kind in Redlands. The university's director of public safety, Jeff Talbott, said he hopes to make this an annual event.

The event took three to four months of planning, organizers said. The fact that it occurred a week after the Boston Marathon bombings was a coincidence, they said.

City spokesman Carl Baker said this is the largest exercise he took a job with the Police Department in 2004.

Garcia and about a half dozen other members of the department followed officers through the various scenarios to give pointers. For example, officers learned where to position themselves at corners to gain optimal vision while remaining undetected.

Tuesday was the Fire Department's first active-shooter drill, according to Battalion Chief Jim Topoleski.

Paramedics waited outside Peppers Hall on Tuesday for police to secure the building.

"In a perfect, real-world scenario, we would be nowhere near here," Topeleski said.

His men would most likely be stationed farther away near the communications area.

During the drill, canopies were set up just outside the building's entrance where department heads from the various agencies discussed strategy and relayed information to one another. This hub would be much farther from the action, if it were real. At the command post, spokespeople would communicate with the press and relay information to the public.

"The shooter is actively shooting on the first floor of the lobby," and similar reports were transmitted through radios under the red-and-white canopies.

About 20 students and employees at the university played civilians trapped inside the building. They flipped desks, chairs and ran in fright. Police complimented one student on her acting abilities. She was killed about five times throughout the day.